Afghan death soldier repatriated

The body of a Sunderland soldier killed in Afghanistan has been returned to Britain.

Acting Sgt John Amer died in an explosion in Helmand on 30 November.

The 30-year-old's body was repatriated to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire before the coffin passed through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett.

The procession paused at the war memorial, and his body is now due to undergo a post-mortem examination at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their respects as the soldier's cortege passed through.

Acting Sgt Amer was fatally wounded in an explosion in the Babaji area, in central Helmand Province, as he went to help a colleague who had been wounded in another explosion moments earlier.

The serviceman, from 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, was the 99th member of UK forces to die on operations in Afghanistan this year. That figure now stands at 100.

A/Sgt Amer's wife said he was 'her world'

Based in Aldershot, Hampshire, he was the 236th member of the forces killed since the mission began in October 2001.

Members of A/Sgt Amer's family placed red roses on top of the hearse carrying his coffin which bore the Union flag. His father, John, was comforted by family and friends.

He and his wife, Sue, had a daughter, Lisa.

His widow said: "I am devastated by the loss of my loving husband John. I have lost my true love, my heart has been broken.

"The whole world should know that John was the best father that our daughter could have wished for.

"This cruel world has taken a hero who touched the hearts of everyone he met, a very special man who brought joy and laughter.

We owe him a huge debt of gratitude Gordon Brown The PM paying tribute to A/Sgt Amer in the Commons: From BBC Democracy Live

"The Army was John's world, he was mine. He was my best friend, the pain of losing him is overwhelming."

Lieutenant Colonel Toby Gray, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, said: "We have lost one of the very finest soldiers in the regiment.

"He died saving a comrade and doing the job he both loved and excelled at. To the last, he was thinking of others."

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